Marvel Comics - UK Price Variants
Hello Reader 
Here is a summary of the Marvel UK Price Variants that I have discovered hiding between the dates of May 1960 and December 1981 inclusive.
UK Price Variants were printed in the USA at the same time as their cents priced counterparts. They are part of the same first printing run and are not reprints. If you would like to know more about them, please click the picture below and you'll be magically transported to the Archie discussion thread in which we talk about them in more detail:
In April 2019, CGC changed their labels from "UK Edition" to the more appropriate "UK Price Variant" for these first printing books. You can see their official confirmation of this here 
Meanwhile, here is an up to date summary of what I have discovered so far, which I hope you will find interesting.
The Headlines
- Marvel UK Price Variants (UKPVs) have been found to exist between the cover dates of May 1960 to December 1981 inclusive. Across those cover dates, a total of 6,744 cents priced comics exist spanning 260 titles. At the time of writing, 3,023 of them have a matching single printed price UKPV confirmed spanning 119 of the 260 overall titles.
- The comics are believed to have been printed at the same time and in the same location as their US cents priced counterparts, but with pence only printed cover prices and, in the early years, regional UK indicias. There is currently no evidence to determine which books were printed first – cents or pence – or indeed whether they alternated (Matt Nelson of CGC has taken up the challenge of trying to establish the sequence, having noted page quality differences between pence and cents copies).
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The first Marvel UKPVs known are Gunsmoke Western #58 and Journey into Mystery #58 cover dated May 1960. No pence copies dated prior to May 1960 have been found:
- Gunsmoke Western #58 (with a regional L Miller & Co indicia)
- Journey into Mystery #58 (with a regional Thorpe & Porter indicia)
- The last UKPVs are cover dated December 1981. From January 1982, Marvel introduced dual cents / pence pricing for all their Direct Editions, effectively ending the existence of UK Price Variants for Marvel (Newsstand Editions remained cents only priced).
- No UKPVs have been found for comics cover dated December 1964 to July 1965 inclusive. Most monthly titles have a 9 or 10 issue gap around these dates, potentially due to shipping strikes.
- Almost every title which crosses the cover dates of October 1966 to December 1966 has a two issue pence gap. This may explain why Amazing Spider-Man completists haven’t found #42 and #43 yet - they probably don’t exist.Ditto Avengers 33/34, Daredevil 21/22, Fantastic Four 56/57, Sgt Fury 35/36, Tales to Astonish 85/86. However, Strange Tales only misses one issue (#151) as does Tales of Suspense (#84). Two-Gun Kid has all issues as pence copies but as a bi-monthly title you can see there may have been a missing issue had it been monthly.
- No UKPVs have been found for comics cover dated December 1967 to March 1969 inclusive – a 16 issue gap.
- No UKPVs have been found for comics cover dated April 1974 to July 1974 inclusive. This 4 issue gap coincides with the transition from 6p to 7p.
- No UKPVs have been found for comics cover dated February 1981 to March 1981 inclusive. This 2 issue gap coincides with the transition from 15p to 20p.
- Many single issues do not appear to exist when the issue was double sized, e.g. Avengers #200, Astonishing Tales #8, Ghost Rider #50, The Invaders #41, Thor #300, X-Men #137
- No UKPVs have been found for the ‘Giant Size’ titles of 1974 and 1975 (72 issues across 28 titles).
- Only 5 annuals have been found with pence only printed copies, all cover dated 1965 (Amazing Spider-Man #2, Fantastic Four #3, Journey into Mystery #1, Marvel Tales #2, Sgt Fury #1). A further 96 issues exist without UKPVs across 32 titles.
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All UKPVs were requested by and distributed in the UK by Thorpe and Porter. The only known exceptions are the following 9d cover priced issues which were exclusively distributed by L Miller & Co (Thorpe & Porter took over these three titles from September 1961, becoming the sole distributor for Marvel comics in the UK from this point):
- Gunsmoke Western #58 and 59
- Rawhide Kid #17
- Two-Gun Kid #54 and 55
- The following pence prices exist: 9d, 10d, 1/- (one shilling), 6p, 7p, 8p, 9p, 10p, 12p, 15p, 20p, 30p and 40p. No other cover prices exist.
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In November 1971, UK cover prices changed from ‘old money’ to new as a result of decimalisation. Accordingly, UK copies changed from a one shilling price (1/-) to the modern pence price. The November 1971 US issues of the time were mostly one off 25c over sized issues and ten pence priced copies are known to exist. Of those ten, six were priced at 8p and four were priced at what would become the standard price of 6p. Despite better reflecting the increased content of the oversized issues, the 8p price appears to have been a mistake as many UK copies can be found with a standardised 6p sticker covering the 8p printed price:
- Amazing Adventures #9, 6p
- Amazing Spider-Man #102, 8p
- Avengers #93, 8p
- Conan The Barbarian #11, 6p
- Daredevil #81, 8p
- Fantastic Four #116, 6p
- Incredible Hulk #145, 8p
- Sub-Mariner #43, 8p
- Thor #193, 8p
- Where Monsters Dwell #12, 6p
- As well as the 3,022 ‘regular sized’ comics, 23 Treasury Sized Editions exist with 50p and 75p cover prices (see my discussion thread for the full list). A handful of magazine titles also exist.
- Marvel UK Price Variants differ from those of other publishers in as much as they have a number of printed differences between the pence and cents copies, and those differences vary throughout the UKPV production period. Early books have missing cover months, regional UK indicias and, of course, pence cover prices. Later in the run, the cover mastheads were amended to 'Marvel All-Colour Comics' to inform the UK audience that these books were indeed printed in colour (many UK reprints were not). I have covered every known difference in the discussion thread.
So, only 3,023 books to collect if you want the set. Marvel have the most price variants of any publisher by far and I feel they are the most interesting to study with so many quirks and variations to track. I believe that there are no more UKPV books to be discovered, based on my research into regional indicias and US price fonts. Only time will tell if I'm right.
Happy hunting, if you decide to build a set!
13/03/21
By Stephen Cranch based on v5.1 of the ‘Marvel Comics – UK Price Variants Summary’
| Confirmed UK Price Variant Titles / Issues | |||
| Title | Confirmed UKPV Issues | Total | Title Count |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1-10 | 10 | 1 |
| Amazing Adult Fantasy | 7-14 | 8 | 1 |
| Amazing Adventures | 5-6 | 2 | 1 |
| Amazing Adventures 2nd Series | 3-22, 26-39 | 34 | 1 |
| Amazing Fantasy | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| Amazing Spider-Man | 1-17, 28-41, 44-54, 71-120, 215-223 | 101 | 1 |
| Amazing Spider-Man Annual | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Astonishing Tales | 2-7, 9-22, 25-36 | 32 | 1 |
| The Avengers | 1-8, 19-32, 35-45, 63-120, 153-182, 184-199, 201-203, 206-214 | 149 | 1 |
| Battle | 70 | 1 | 1 |
| Battlestar Galactica | 2, 9, 19 | 3 | 1 |
| Black Goliath | 1-5 | 5 | 1 |
| Black Panther | 1, 7-15 | 10 | 1 |
| Captain America | 159-171, 176-253, 256-264 | 100 | 1 |
| Captain Marvel | 12-21, 25-30, 34-48, 53-62 | 41 | 1 |
| Chamber of Chills | 19, 20, 22, 25 | 4 | 1 |
| Chamber of Darkness | 6-8 | 3 | 1 |
| The Champions | 1-12 | 12 | 1 |
| Conan The Barbarian | 11-35, 41-53, 57-81, 121-129 | 72 | 1 |
| Creatures On The Loose | 31-37 | 7 | 1 |
| Crypt of Shadows | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| Daredevil | 1-3, 9-20, 23-33, 51-108, 112-149, 151-160, 163-168, 170-177 | 146 | 1 |
| Dazzler | 2-10 | 9 | 1 |
| Dead Of Night | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Defenders | 4-7, 9, 11-12, 15-54, 71-91, 94-102 | 77 | 1 |
| Doctor Strange | 4-21, 25-34, 46-50 | 33 | 1 |
| The Eternals | 1-18 | 18 | 1 |
| Fantastic Four | 1-31, 42-55, 58-68, 85-143, 149-175, 177-189, 212, 229-237 | 165 | 1 |
| Fantastic Four Annual | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Fantasy Masterpieces | 1-2 | 2 | 1 |
| Fear (Adventure Into) | 23-31 | 9 | 1 |
| Frankenstein | 12-18 | 7 | 1 |
| The Ghost Rider | 1-6 | 6 | 1 |
| Ghost Rider | 1-4, 7, 9-19, 22, 36, 39-49, 51-52, 55-63 | 40 | 1 |
| Gunsmoke Western | 58, 59, 66-77 | 14 | 1 |
| Howard The Duck | 1-26 | 26 | 1 |
| The Human Fly | 1-19 | 19 | 1 |
| The Human Torch | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Incredible Hulk | 1-6, 114-152, 161-166, 258-266 | 60 | 1 |
| The Inhumans | 1-9 | 9 | 1 |
| The Invaders | 3-40 | 38 | 1 |
| Iron Fist | 3-7 | 5 | 1 |
| Iron Man | 12-42, 47-66, 69, 71-111, 122-142, 145, 147-153 | 122 | 1 |
| John Carter Warlord Of Mars | 24-28 | 5 | 1 |
| Journey Into Mystery | 58-60, 62-109, 119-125 | 58 | 1 |
| Journey Into Mystery Annual | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Journey Into Mystery 2nd Series | 8, 9, 12-18 | 9 | 1 |
| Jungle Action | 11-23 | 13 | 1 |
| Ka-Zar, Lord Of The Hidden Jungle | 5-18 | 14 | 1 |
| Ka-Zar The Savage | 1-9 | 9 | 1 |
| Kid Colt Outlaw | 91, 95-119, 124-129, 133-137 | 37 | 1 |
| Kull The Conqueror / Destroyer | 7-11, 18 | 6 | 1 |
| Logans Run | 1-7 | 7 | 1 |
| Luke Cage / Power Man & Iron Fist | 20-57, 65-66, 68-76 | 49 | 1 |
| Machine Man | 10-18 | 9 | 1 |
| Man-Thing | 8-22 | 15 | 1 |
| Man-Thing 2nd Series | 1, 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Marvel Chillers | 1-5 | 5 | 1 |
| Marvel Classics Comics | 5, 7, 9-36 | 30 | 1 |
| Marvel Double Feature | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Marvel Feature (2nd Series) Feat. Red Sonja | 2-7 | 6 | 1 |
| Marvel Premiere | 22, 24, 26-34, 37-57, 59-61 | 35 | 1 |
| Marvel Presents: | 1-9 | 9 | 1 |
| Marvel Spotlight | 8-13, 17, 26-31 | 13 | 1 |
| Marvel Spotlight (Volume 2) | 1-7, 9-10 | 9 | 1 |
| Marvel Super Action | 30-37 | 8 | 1 |
| Marvel Super Heroes | 72, 80, 103, 104 | 4 | 1 |
| Marvel Tales | 104, 126-134 | 10 | 1 |
| Marvel Tales Annual | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marvel Team-Up | 24-37, 39-80, 82-99, 101, 111-112 | 77 | 1 |
| Marvel Triple Action | 28, 30, 32, 43-47 | 8 | 1 |
| Marvel Two-in-One | 11-71, 74-82 | 70 | 1 |
| Marvel's Greatest Comics | 68, 93 | 2 | 1 |
| Master Of Kung Fu | 36-96, 99-107 | 70 | 1 |
| The Micronauts | 28-36 | 9 | 1 |
| Monsters on the Prowl | 9-12, 15-16 | 6 | 1 |
| Moon Knight | 1-3, 6-14 | 12 | 1 |
| Ms. Marvel | 1-23 | 23 | 1 |
| My Girl Pearl | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Night Rider | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Not Brand Echh | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Man Called Nova | 1-16, 20-24 | 21 | 1 |
| Omega The Unknown | 1-6 | 6 | 1 |
| Patsy And Hedy | 70-71 | 2 | 1 |
| Patsy Walker | 89 | 1 | 1 |
| Rawhide Kid | 17, 24-42, 48-54, 56-60, 151 | 33 | 1 |
| Red Sonja | 1, 7-14 | 9 | 1 |
| ROM Space Knight | 1-3, 17-22, 24-25 | 11 | 1 |
| Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos | 1-10, 21-34, 37-47, 107-117, 128, 132, 152, 163-167 | 54 | 1 |
| Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos Annual | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| She-Hulk, The Savage | 9-10, 15-23 | 11 | 1 |
| Shogun Warriors | 4-20 | 17 | 1 |
| The Silver Surfer | 11-18 | 8 | 1 |
| Skull The Slayer | 2-8 | 7 | 1 |
| Son Of Satan | 1-4 | 4 | 1 |
| (Peter Parker) The Spectacular Spider-Man | 1, 53-61 | 10 | 1 |
| Spider-Woman | 5-34, 37, 38, 40, 41 | 34 | 1 |
| Star Trek | 13, 14, 16, 17 | 4 | 1 |
| Star Wars | 2-5 | 4 | 1 |
| Strange Tales | 75-77, 79-125, 136-150, 152-162, 175-187, | 89 | 1 |
| Sub-Mariner | 12-69 | 58 | 1 |
| Super Natural Thrillers | 13, 15 | 2 | 1 |
| Super-Villain Team-Up | 3-9 | 7 | 1 |
| Tales of Suspense | 10, 13-58, 69-83, 85-95 | 73 | 1 |
| Tales To Astonish Volume 1 | 10, 14-61, 71-84, 87-97 | 74 | 1 |
| Tales To Astonish Volume 2 | 4-14 | 11 | 1 |
| Tarzan | 24-29 | 6 | 1 |
| Thor | 126-132, 135-146, 163-221, 226-282, 285-299, 301-303, 306-314 | 162 | 1 |
| Tomb Of Darkness | 10-20, 23 | 12 | 1 |
| Tomb of Dracula | 7-18, 23-28, 55-62 | 26 | 1 |
| Two-Gun Kid | 54-55, 60-72, 77-90 | 29 | 1 |
| Vault Of Evil | 23 | 1 | 1 |
| Warlock | 4-5, 9-15 | 9 | 1 |
| Weird Wonder Tales | 5-11 | 7 | 1 |
| Werewolf By Night | 6-14, 20-39, 41 | 30 | 1 |
| Where Monsters Dwell | 3-23, 25-27, 30, 32-37 | 31 | 1 |
| Worlds Unknown | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Wyatt Earp | 29 | 1 | 1 |
| Uncanny X-Men | 1-7, 13-24, 27-37, 55-66, 73-86, 89-93, 96-101, 108-120, 123-136, 138-141, 144-152 | 107 | 1 |
| Confirmed UKPV Total: | 3,023 | ||
| Title Total: | 119 | ||
| Titles With No UK Price Variant Issues Produced / Confirmed | |
| Title | Title Count |
| A Date With Millie | 1 |
| Adventures On The Planet Of The Apes | 1 |
| Amazing Adventures Feat. X-Men | 1 |
| America's Best TV Comics | 1 |
| ARRGH! | 1 |
| Beware! | 1 |
| Captain Savage | 1 |
| The Cat | 1 |
| Chili | 1 |
| Combat Kelly & The Deadly Dozen | 1 |
| Crazy | 1 |
| The Deep | 1 |
| Dennis The Menace | 1 |
| Devil Dinosaur | 1 |
| Doc Savage | 1 |
| Doctor Strange (1st Series) | 1 |
| Dragonslayer | 1 |
| Dynomutt | 1 |
| Fantasy Masterpieces (2nd Series) | 1 |
| The Flintstones | 1 |
| For Your Eyes Only | 1 |
| Francis, Brother Of The Universe | 1 |
| Fun & Games Magazine | 1 |
| Giant Size.. Titles (See separate tab) | 28 |
| Godzilla | 1 |
| Groovy | 1 |
| Gunhawks | 1 |
| Gun-Slinger | 1 |
| Harvey | 1 |
| Homer The Happy Ghost | 1 |
| Iron Man & Sub-Mariner | 1 |
| Island of Dr. Moreau | 1 |
| Kathy | 1 |
| Ka-Zar (1st Series) | 1 |
| King Conan | 1 |
| Laff-A-Lympics | 1 |
| Life With Millie | 1 |
| Li'l Kids | 1 |
| Li'l Pals | 1 |
| Linda Carter, Student Nurse | 1 |
| Love Romances | 1 |
| Mad About Millie | 1 |
| Man From Atlantis | 1 |
| Marvel Adventure Featuring Daredevil | 1 |
| Marvel Collector's Item Classics | 1 |
| Marvel Feature | 1 |
| Marvel Spectacular | 1 |
| Mighty Marvel Western | 1 |
| Millie The Model | 1 |
| Modeling With Millie | 1 |
| My Love | 1 |
| My Own Romance | 1 |
| Nick Fury Agent Of Shield | 1 |
| Night Nurse | 1 |
| Our Love Story | 1 |
| The Outlaw Kid | 1 |
| Patsy Walker's Fashion Parade | 1 |
| Peter The Little Pest / Petey | 1 |
| Raiders Of The Lost Ark | 1 |
| Red Wolf | 1 |
| Ringo Kid | 1 |
| Scooby-Doo | 1 |
| Shanna The She-Devil | 1 |
| S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury And His Agents Of | 1 |
| Special Marvel Edition | 1 |
| Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends | 1 |
| Spidey Super Stories | 1 |
| Spoof | 1 |
| Spotlight (Hannah-Barbera) | 1 |
| Tales of Asgard | 1 |
| Teen-Age Romance | 1 |
| Tower Of Shadows | 1 |
| TV Stars, Hanna-Barbera | 1 |
| Uncanny Tales (From The Grave) | 1 |
| War Is Hell | 1 |
| Western Gunfighters | 1 |
| Western Kid | 1 |
| Western Team-Up | 1 |
| What If? | 1 |
| Where Creatures Roam | 1 |
| Yogi Bear | 1 |
| Annual.. Titles (See separate tab) | 32 |
| Title Total: | 140 |
- AJD, BoogieWoogie, porcupine48 and 6 others
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